What fool said that no good ever came of getting your kit off for money? Gosh, how silly he or she must feel now.

Because David Gandy – he of the luscious lunchbox who was photographed in a boat naked save for a pair of Dolce & Gabbana trunks so skimpy that you could detect the wearer’s religion – is proof that this simply ain’t so.

For every man who has ever been shy of thrusting his crotch forward into a camera lens, consider this: have you just become the sole star of the first D & G calendar? Do you have women the world over writing “Phwoar, Cor! O mio dioooooooo!” into YouTube as they drool over your eye-popping photos – of which your man-pouch is unequivocally the star? No. This reward belongs to Gandy, 27, the Adonis from Billericay and women’s answer to the “Hello Boys!” bra advert – and who, though we do say it ourselves, times2 was among the first to notice. Last weekend, Gandy unveiled the new D & G underwear collection at Milan Fashion Week, but it is the press release for the calendar that most catches our eye.

It tells us that our David is photographed in the spirit of that other David – you know, by that Michelangelo bloke – as “an absolute icon of the body’s perfection”. Well, wouldn’t that cheer you up on a bad hair day?

And there’s more.

David is also photographed in the nude, whereupon it is revealed that “the name is not the only skill he has in common with Michelangelo’s masterpiece”. Ooh, girls, I think we’re ready.

Alas, the calendar isn’t available for sale, only as an exclusive gift from D & G stores “upon invitation only”. Boo. At times like this we must thank the Lord for eBay.

Times recommends

• How to solve the big style questions
• Aids in Africa: ‘It is the staff who really inspire you’
• Video: How to do Beyonce's 'Single Ladies' dance